All is not lost!
My passion may not yet be dead in the water thanks to a PM received from fellow PPRuNe contributor,Lucifer, who admits to having endured a phobia of flying since the tender age of fifteen and three quarters when the Kiel Kraft glider he and an imaginary friend had lovingly crafted, tumbled to earth and was smashed to smithereens on the sweeping shire below (actually it hit the pavement outside his three bedroom semi in Croydon but that sort of killed the alliteration). Inconsolable for months afterwards, the trauma had left the pubescent Lucifer indelibly marked, his anxieties most acute when leaving terra firma. So how on earth didn’t his malady hinder a flourishing aviation career?
Well, according to Lucifer, the secret lies in never actually looking out of the windows of an aircraft and keeping one’s eyes closed as firmly as Pippa’s pert posterior throughout the flight. Apparently, the first is quite feasible as you can leave it to Mickey Mouse to shout out instructions of what to do and when e.g. “ Sicstdee nats………Eidee nats…….Veee Wan…….Row- tade” etc., but how does he manage the second without arousing the curiosities of crew and passengers alike? Well, the illusion lies in the use of a huge pair of sunglasses that mask the eyes, akin to those that graced the chiselled features of the glamorous film star, Sophia Loren. Lucifer assures me that nobody can tell whether your eyes are open or shut or even in which direction you’re looking. Cunning or what?
He adds there are other benefits to wearing a pair of sunglasses on board an airliner, however, I’m far too polite to repeat them in open forum. Lucifer, you little devil! My, how you’ve grown.
Oh, BTW Lucifer, please convey my thanks to Talk Pedlar for the invite to the Wannabes Christmas bash, however, Groundloop and I shall be indulging in yet another enjoyable day’s spotting at Gatwick. Rhcriad.